Mar 14, 2008

Of course, that is if you can actually GET one! They're backordered and a bit hard to obtain right now. Anyway, that article provoked a question about the source of my information on the Apple i-Reader.

You'll find my reply to Gordon's comment in that email trail, but in case you missed that, I felt it worthy enough to publish a post about it here under the title: Apple iReader competes with Amazon Kindle. Now, to be honest, there is, as of yet, no such device that we know of to emerge from Apple's Area 51 lab of startlingly new products that wow and dazzle the Mac faithful that Apple has actually NAMED the iREADER.

However, there is a device which COULD be used as a reader. I know, some of the more geeky among my readers will point out that the iPOD could be used as a reader. However, there's a problem with that: the small screen of most iPODs.

The solution? The iPhone. Read my comment trail from yesterday's article to see how I've come to this conclusion:

I'll dig through several sources on this matter and clarify to help settle the issue of the iREADER:

1) GeekWhat - http://geekwhat.com/2007/03/31/apple-ireader-due-in-july/ - this source commented July - however, that was LAST July (07). So, maybe if this device is truly being jointly developed through Amazon, Google, and Apple.

Considering he missed his deadline, and considering the proximity of his blog post to April Fool's Day, I believe other sources are required.

2) Fake Steve Jobs. http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/fake-steve-jobs-options-review.ars. Alright. This one really is a reach. But, think about it: if Fake Steve Jobs could be printed as a book, why not a DRM-protected book on an iReader? Makes sense, especially at the market-ready $499 (and $699 with the memory capacity you'd really want, right?). It sounded so real hearing fake Steve Jobs describe the new iReader I could hardly help myself.

3. Engadget reprinted the Robert Scoble story. You mean, it WAS an April Fool's joke. Awww sheesh.

4. iAudioize (http://www.gearlog.com/2007/03/turn_the_ipod_into_an_ireader.php) offers this super-cool software that turns your PDF's and other docs and allows you to HEAR them from your iPOD. How cool is that? For anyone with a commute, this is BETTER than an iREADER. This is actually the product I've been looking for, so I'm excited about this route...however, this post does not ratify the Apple iReader, either.

5.Engadget speculation (http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/16/if-jobs-says-people-dont-read-anymore-does-this-headline-rea/comments/9882721/). Again, Engadget enthusiasts are speculating that Apple has some secret "Area-51" like lab where guys in white jackets are design this dream iReader device for us. Can you blame them? Just watch the video (above) and you'll see that the "Amazon Kindle" is *not* exactly what you'd call "SEX-AY".

6. Figuring maybe Apple might want to weigh in (ehem, cough) we all know how "open" Apple likes to be (yeah, right, about as open as a Raiders training camp), I figured I'd google Apple and even CALL Apple to see if they'd comment. After google, and the phone call, my kind redirects sent me to the iPHONE or the iPOD, with the iPHONE being the most dominant suggestion. Hey, there's an idea. Maybe we can use an iREADER on an iPHONE or iPOD. Makes sense to me. Maybe there really isn't a need for a unique Apple iREADER after all!

This quote from David Pogue of the NY times just came out YESTERDAY on the topic of Apple SDK (native software for iPHONE): The move will turn iPhone into “an engineering tool, a game console, a free-calls Skype phone, a business tool, a dating service, an e-book reader, a chat room, a database, an Etch-a-Sketch,” and, Pogue predicts “a gigantic success.” What's behind this? A lot. Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers has announced an iFund of $100,000,000 for iPhone Software Development. That's serious money, folks. (see; http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/)

Over 100,000 developers downloaded the SDK platform for the iPhone in the first 4 days.

So, there you have it. The iREADER already exists. It's called the iPHONE.

Surprise!

P.S. - For those of you who are more geeked-up than me, who already have been downloading RSS feeds with your iPOD (http://www.engadget.com/2004/04/16/pts-how-to-fridays-read-rss-feeds-on-your-ipod/) well, what can I say, if you enjoy reading my blog on a 2" x 1" screen, kudos to you... or your eyeballs!________________________________________